Of the invitees, the OHL is providing fourteen the WHL thirteen, eight will travel from the Q and three NCAA players will gather in Calgary. All hoping to try to catch the eye of Craig Hartsburg and his assistant coaches as they put together the roster they hope will lead to a third consecutive gold medal.

Eleven of those invited this time around have tasted success, as part of the roster last year that won Gold in Vancouver. As with any selection list there are names that are missing and causing a bit of controversy, the most prominent one being that of Daniel Ryder, who has a legion of fans wondering why he wasn’t included in the selection roster.

The Hockey Canada folks have a little less than three weeks to figure out who will carry the colours over to Sweden and the opening match on Boxing Day. And as usual they will take to the ice with an anxious nation watching over their shoulders. Year after year Canadians, use the Christmas and New Years weeks as an excuse to watch some hockey in what is one of the most watched television events on the Canadian sports calendar.